Singapore — For the fourth year in a row, the most admired man in Singapore is former US President Barack Obama.
The runner-up to Mr Obama in YouGov’s poll is Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who has moved up two notches from fourth place in 2020.
YouGov’s annual poll also enthrones Mr Obama as the most admired public figure in the world for the second year in a row, despite the fact that he left the White House in 2017.
The toings and froings of the two leaders may have something to do with President Obama’s popularity. He first visited Singapore in 2009, when he was here for the APEC Leaders Meeting. He was here again in 2018 and 2019.
Mr Obama hosted a state dinner for Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the White House in 2016, the first time Mr Lee had been so honoured.
Mr Lee’s father, Singapore’s founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, is known to have been hosted to at least three such state dinners in the US, the last in 1985 when he was honoured by President Ronald Reagan.
Rounding out the top five male public figures people look up to in Singapore is Canadian actor Keanu Reeves in third place; businessman and philanthropist Warren Buffett in fourth; and Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates, fifth.
As for the most admired women, former US First Lady Michelle Obama and the United Kingdom’s Queen Elizabeth stayed put in first and second, where they were last year.
Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi, who had been ranked sixth in 2020, is now in third place New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is fourth, and actress and humanitarian Angelina Jolie is in fifth place this year.
Singapore’s full top ten list can be viewed here.
PM Lee is the only Singaporean rated among the top 10 by both men and women.
President Halimah Yacob, who was seventh on last year’s list, US talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, who ranked 10th last year, have been replaced this year by British actress Emma Watson (eighth) and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai (10th).
China’s President Xi Jinping, who ranked eighth last year, is no longer in 2021’s top 10 either. But Hong Kong actor Andy Lau made his debut on the list at number 8.
Top Ten Most Admired around the globe
World's Most Admired Men 2021 (11-20)
11. Warren Buffett 🇺🇸
12. Sachin Tendulkar 🇮🇳
13. Donald Trump 🇺🇸
14. Shahrukh Khan 🇮🇳
15. Amitabh Bachchan 🇮🇳
16. Pope Francis 🇦🇷
17. Imran Khan 🇵🇰
18. Virat Kohli 🇮🇳
19. Andy Lau 🇨🇳
20. Joe Biden 🇺🇸https://t.co/oBV8X1gh6E pic.twitter.com/APcMTylDst— YouGov (@YouGov) December 14, 2021
Worldwide, 2021’s top three most admired men and women are the same as last year, with the Obamas in pole position. Bill Gates is still at number two, and Xi Jinping is in third place. Angelina Jolie remains at number two on the women’s list, and Queen Elizabeth is still in third place.
The full list may be found here.
Over 42,000 people were surveyed across 38 countries and territories, who were asked the question, “Thinking about people alive in the world today, which [man or woman] do you most admire?”
Notable climbers on the list are Malala Yousafzai and Indian actress Priyanka Chopra, who are now in ninth and 10th places respectively.
Football continues to be a global obsession, with Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo in fourth place worldwide and Argentine footballer Lionel Messi ranked seventh. /TISG
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